Friday, June 3, 2011

The no-so-active activist me

I have my mom hat. My employee hat. My wife hat. My faith hat. My friend hat. My blogger hat. And in my mess, I probably have a few more. Do I still have room on my shelf for the activist hat?

Time is always a premium in my life. My mom schedule keeps me hopping for two hours before I walk out the door until nearly 9:30 or 10 each night, and by then,our bedtime battles leave us worn out. My husband's work schedules and our budget mean I don't have leeway for sitters to attend events or volunteer outside the home without helpers. Does that make me no longer an activist?

I'm certainly not alone. Today at the Green Phone Booth, Abbie shared her concerns about how motherwood and work often took priority over being an environmental activist.

The truth is, while I may no longer be a card-carrying member of the Sierra Club or out on a visible level, I am an environmental activist. It's just that my audience is much smaller. But much more influential.

My pint-size audience knows we recycle and reuse and whenever possible buy resale. My pint-size audience loves to enjoy nature, to hike, to check out bugs and birds. My pint-size audience reads books from the library about nature and soaks them up like a sponge.

My audience of two may be small, but they will grow. And so will their influence. And I'm OK with that.

1 comment:

David said...

On the contrary, I think that by having to be so busy raising your family has helped you to recognize those issues that are most important and worth talking about. People reading your blog are most interested in things that affect them and appreciate your down-to-earth perspective regarding how even busy Moms can make a small difference. The power of blogging enables activist mothers to get their message out! :-)